Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (55 page)

They sat like that for what seemed like forever, then Nikki turned to look at him. Her eyes were so swollen from crying he wasn’t sure she realized it was him. “Sweetheart, it’s me,” he whispered. “It’s me, baby. I’m here.” He knelt in front of her and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her.

Nikki hugged her arms against her body and folded into him. She cried softly, “They don’t love me. My own parents; they don’t love me. I’m not sure they ever have. Why don’t my parents love me, Tony? What’s wrong with me that I’m so unlovable? What did I do that’s so terrible that my own family doesn’t want me?”

A tear slid down his face as he squeezed her tight. “Oh, baby, I don’t know what’s wrong with them. But you listen to me: Don’t come back here. Ever again. Don’t do this to yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you, sweetie – nothing, you hear me? It’s them, baby, it’s not you. It’s them.” He smoothed her hair, then put his hand under her chin and raised her face to his. “You’re smart and beautiful and loving. You have me; you have Clayton and Annabeth and Katie and Brittany; you have Vic; you have Mamma and all of my brothers and their families. Marla and Carol think you’re wonderful. The guys at work all think you’re super cool, not to mention very, very hot. To hell with these people. You don’t need them anymore, and you certainly don’t need the way they make you feel. Shake it off, precious. You have a wonderful life now. Live it, love it, and leave this behind.”

He took her hand, helped her stand, and walked back to the headstone, a beautiful white granite; Jake and Amanda’s names were there, set forever into its face. Tony stood behind Nikki with his arms around her waist. “You’ll never forget and after today, I never will either. You know, Nik, I know it still hurts – it always will – but that pain is what helps you remember.” He felt her relax against him, and he took her hand and led her toward the Volvo.

After he’d insisted that she eat a sandwich in the grocery store parking lot and they’d taken the car back to the rental place, they met José at a gas station near the parkway and told him they were driving back. He fell in behind the Volvo and followed them to Louisville.

When they pulled into the driveway of the house in Anchorage, the windows were lit up. Katie’s little Subaru wagon and Brittany’s Lexus sedan sat out front. He looked at Nikki, but nothing registered on her face. She’d said next to nothing all the way back, and he didn’t know how she’d react to a house full of twenty- and thirty-somethings after the day she’d had.

“If you want me to send them home, I will,” he said quietly as he parked her Volvo. “I know you probably don’t feel like . . .”

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m fine, just tired. They probably think they’re helping.” She climbed down out of the SUV and trudged toward the door.

When they stepped inside, they were more than shocked. In addition to the kids, Raffaella was there, and all five of them were sitting in the living room, quietly playing cards. They all looked up and smiled as Tony and Nikki walked into the room.

Raffaella rose and took Nikki’s face in her hands, kissed her on the forehead. “Daughter, I am glad my son brought you home. I have pasta e fagioli in the crack pot in the kitchen for you.” Nikki knew she meant the slow cooker, and she heard Annabeth stifle a giggle.

“Thank you, Raffaella,” Nikki hugged the older woman, who squeezed Nikki back.

“Please, that is Mamma, my dear.” She took Nikki’s hand and led her toward the kitchen. As they walked away, Tony heard her say, “I also made for you my Italian cream cake. I hope you will like it.”

On the counter in the kitchen was an enormous vase of fresh cut flowers with a card from The Passionate Pansy sticking out. Before Nikki could pull it off to read it, Clayton told her, “Marla and Carol sent those to you. They couldn’t find you, so they brought them to the office. I brought them home for you.” They’d remembered; Nikki teared up at the thought.

Raffaella sat Nikki down at the table and crossed to the stove to ladle out some of the pasta. Even though she’d thought she couldn’t eat, Nikki’s mouth watered as Raffaella handed the bowl to Tony and he set it in front of Nikki. While Raffaella ladled another bowl out for Tony, Brittany placed a plate of sliced, crusty French bread on the table, and Annabeth pulled the water pitcher from the refrigerator and poured each of them a glass of water, then replaced it and produced two small salads and a bottle of dressing. Nikki couldn’t believe it – they’d apparently planned this all afternoon. She looked at Tony, who just smiled and dug into the bowl of pasta. She tried a bite – it was delicious, all hot and savory, and the ditalini was cooked perfectly. Everything – the food, the house – was filled with love. “Aren’t any of you going to eat?” she asked.

Katie shook her head and smiled. “We’ve already eaten. We were waiting for you guys. We haven’t had dessert yet, but Nonna wouldn’t let us cut the cake until you got here.” Despite the day, Nikki had to chuckle, and Tony laughed outright.

After the salad and pasta, Raffaella produced the cake, which looked too good to eat. She cut perfectly sized portions and passed them around, even taking one herself. Nikki put a forkful of the cake in her mouth and almost cried – it was easily the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted. “Raffa . . . Mamma, this cake is, well, I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing!”

The small woman smiled broadly. “Thank you, dear. It is my favorite to make. My Marco used to say it was better than sex.” Nikki almost choked, and Tony started laughing again.

“Wow, Mamma, if I were you I wouldn’t tell that on myself!” Tony cackled, but Raffaella looked puzzled as Nikki and all of the kids started laughing too.

“Perhaps it was the flour?” Raffaella said, still confused, and Tony howled. Everyone was laughing except Raffaella, who still couldn’t understand what was so funny.

When they’d all calmed down and gotten themselves under control, the usually-quiet Clayton spoke softly. “Nikki, Annabeth and I wanted to ask you something.”

“Of course, honey. What is it?” she asked, finishing her cake and fighting the urge to ask for another piece.

“We were wondering, do you think it would be okay if we called you Mom?” he asked, his voice serious and low.

Tony’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline – their timing couldn’t be worse – but Clayton misread his expression and timidly asked, “Oh, Dad, is that not okay?”

“Oh, no, Clayton, that’s absolutely fine with me. I was thinking, though, that this has been a hard day, and maybe it’s not a really good time to . . .” Tony said, recovering pretty quickly but still concerned.

Nikki interrupted him. “No, Tony, that’s okay. I think it’s a perfectly good time to ask that.” She sniffed hard to keep the tears at bay and straightened her back, then looked from one young face to another. “You know, I never expected anybody to call me Mom again.” She took a deep breath and tried to keep her composure. “If it’s ever going to happen, I can’t think of anybody I’d rather it be than you guys. I love you both – I love all four of you – and I’ll gladly be your mom if you’ll have me.” Even though she was working hard to keep it from happening, a tear escaped from one eye and meandered down her cheek.

Annabeth started to cry outright and ran to hug Nikki. Clayton reached over and took her hand wordlessly, his eyes welling. Tony decided he’d better say nothing or he’d start to blubber. Then Nikki turned to him, a sob escaping her lips, and cried in an almost childlike voice, “Oh, god – I have a family! A real family, people who love me!” she wailed, and Tony lost it. He pulled her to him and held her tight, so tight he was afraid she might break.

“Baby, I’ve been trying to tell you that for months. We’re all here for you – always. Between me, the kids, Mamma, Vic, and all of my brothers and their families, you’ll never be alone again. This is your life now. We love you so much.”

“I love you guys too!” Nikki cried out, still sobbing, and pretty soon there was a seven-person Walters pileup going on as everyone hugged everyone. It went on for what seemed like forever until Nikki heard Clayton say, in his usual straightforward Clayton fashion, “Would it be okay if I had some more cake now?”

After his third piece of cake, Clayton announced, “Brit and I have something we want to talk to all of you about.” They both got up from the table and walked toward the den. Everyone else followed, looking at each other and wondering what they were about to hear.

When they were all settled, Clayton started. “You all know we’ve been trying to get pregnant.” Everyone in the room nodded. “So we just wanted to ask: What would everybody think about us becoming foster parents?”

Before anyone else could speak, Nikki asked, “How do you feel about getting your hearts broken over and over?”

Not missing a beat, Brittany answered matter-of-factly, “I’ve miscarried three times. We’ve lost implanted embryos four times. I don’t know how much more broken my heart could be.”

“Then if you’re prepared for the heartbreak, I think it’s a great idea.” Nikki looked at Tony. “Baby, what about you?”

“Personally, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Tony agreed. “Are you thinking of fostering and then maybe adopting? Is that where this is going?”

Clayton nodded. “We hope so. And we don’t care – baby, toddler, small child, teen, Black, White, Latino, Asian – we really don’t care. We’d just like to give a home to a child who needs one.”

Annabeth and Katie were quiet. Raffaella spoke up. “I think this fostering is a wonderful idea. I would welcome a new great-grandchild.” She looked at Annabeth and Katie. “Well,” she asked, “what about the two of you? What do you think about this idea your brother and his beautiful wife have?”

“Oh, I think it’s great,” Annabeth mumbled, sounding decidedly unexcited. “Katie?” Annabeth asked, turning to her partner.

“Yeah, great.” Katie looked miserable.

“Something going on here?” Tony asked the girls.

“Yeah.” Annabeth tried to work up her courage. “It’s just that, well, we want to try artificial insemination, but we can’t afford the sperm or the procedures. And no, Dad, we don’t want you to help out,” she added when Tony started to speak. “We want to do this ourselves, but it’s all so expensive.”

Everyone jumped when Nikki interjected, “Turkey baster.”

“Huh?” Annabeth croaked.

“Turkey baster. People did it for years before anybody had ever heard of artificial insemination. The only problem is, you’ve got to be careful not to blow any air up your hoo-hah. Otherwise, it’s a cheap alternative and it works great.” Everyone looked at her like she had three heads except for Raffaella, who looked horrified. “What? You got a better idea?”

“Would that really work?” Katie asked, an odd expression on her face.

“Look,” Nikki pointed out, “women have gotten pregnant easier than that throughout time. Hell, it’s nothing to hear that a woman got pregnant when her partner ejaculated on her stomach.” Raffaella’s eyes widened, and Tony was biting his knuckle to keep from laughing. “Well, it’s true. Those little guys are pretty focused and strong and they can travel a long distance. So you just prop your backside up with a pillow and tilt your pelvis upward, then drop the, well, you know, in and presto! Baby!” Everyone was still staring at her, and being on the hot seat made her want another piece of cake.

“Wait, this could work?” Annabeth asked. “Really? I mean, that would be awesome!” she whispered reverently. “But where would we get the semen?”

Nikki turned and looked directly at Clayton. “What about you, Clayton? I mean, your sperm is okay, right? Count, motility, all that stuff?”

Clayton turned five shades of burnt orange. “Uh, yeah, but that’s just sorta . . .”

“Oh, buck up for your sister’s sake, honey. Look, this is simple. You supply the sperm and Katie carries the baby. That way, it’s genetically Katie’s and more like Annabeth’s because of your shared genetics.”

“But, but . . . but what about Dad? He’s got sperm, right? He could do it,” Clayton whined, scrambling and looking at Tony.

Tony choked on his second piece of cake. “Hey, don’t look at me! That’s just weird.”

“Like it’s not weird to use mine?” Clayton cried.

“Guys, guys, it’s not weird, so don’t make it weird.” Nikki tried to calm them both, then turned to Clayton. Okay, now she really wanted cake. “Tony’s would work, but genetically speaking, yours would be closer to Annabeth’s DNA makeup. And you know, down the road, if you and Brittany wanted to have a child of your own, well, Annabeth would make a great surrogate for any embryo you two had. Her body would host it well because of the shared genetics.” She stopped. “Easy peasey,” she added. Where the hell was that cake?

Katie and Annabeth looked at each other, then Annabeth turned to stare at Clayton but said nothing. “What?” Clayton asked, sounding kind of desperate. No response. “Are you serious?” he cried out. Annabeth continued to stare at him, and Katie joined her. “Oh, my god, you are! Brit?” he moaned, looking at his wife.

“What? I don’t see the problem. I’m on board with this. God knows you’ve got a never-ending supply of sperm,” she grinned but feigned disgust.

Tony laughed and slapped Clayton on the shoulder. “Ah, that’s my boy – a chip off the old block!” The younger man didn’t seem the least bit amused. He glared at Nikki.